Nap training

Hi gang,

We've been sleep training for almost a week and it has gone very well for our boy/girl twins who will be 10 months in a few days.

So, onto naps, which have always been bad and are even worse now. They've been taking 3 still at only 30-40 each, likely because night sleep was so poor. They are ready to go to two, but I need to teach them to fall asleep awake for two good quality naps to be possible.

My question- how did you train for naps after sleep training, assuming you were alone some of the time for daytime care?

Any specific method, schedule or tips would be appreciated.

 

We basically did the same process as we did for nights, which for us was a modified form of CIO (we would go in and comfort them, gradually increasing the intervals until they were asleep).  It was MUCH easier for naps once we had the nights down.  Like you, my kids never napped more than 30-40 minutes, even when we switched to two naps.  Once we got down to ONE nap, they would nap longer, sometimes as long as 1.5-2 hours.

 

Eagleswings, how long did it take for them to catch onto naps?

 

The nights took us about 5-6 days to really get it down.  Naps took about 2-3 days from what I remember and wasn't nearly as hard (we didn't have to go in nearly as much).

 

I hope that's the case. Naps are a real struggle right now. We're going to start tomorrow, and I'll likely use gradual extinction with short intervals between comfort.

 

Day one was rough. Nap 1 dd fell asleep after 10 woke up after 30 and cio back down for 40. Ds cio for 35, slep only 20, and cio up until the hour was done.

Nap 2 dd CIO 10 minutes again, slept for 25 but woke up because our poor ds cried the whole hour. We went in for a check after 45 min but he was just not settling. After the hour was up I had to lay down with him to get him the sleep he needed.

CIO for naps is so much harder. I sure hope it works. It tears me up to see him especially resist so hard. He's easy at bedtime. I just want his trouble to be a means to a good thing ahead, as CIO at night has proven so well.

 

I know you asked about sleep training, but then i read that you laid down with him  to settle him after CIO did not work for naptime. Our twins went to two and then one long nap with us lying with them quite easily, everybody laid down together (one on either side of me), same music every day, dark room etc. and I gradually decreased the time I stayed with them - unless I wanted a nap myself. If you don't have other kids who cannot be left alone for the time that might be an easier way of getting them into a nap routine. If you have set up the environment and routine, over time you might be able to eliminate your presence from the routine if you wish.

 

Happy June, did you sleep in a bed with them? how did you ensure they were safe after you left them? That's always my issue. My daughter doesn't cosleep well but is catching on to our new nap routine. Son cosleeps well but I can't safely leave him if she wakes up first. I'm interested to know more details.

 

We had a large mattress on the floor in their room. Google Montessori floor bed for ideas what this could look like. The big advantage is that they cannot fall out of the bed if they are restless or wake up.
Their room was really well baby-proofed and had a gate so I knew they were safe in the room even if I did not hear them wake up or tried to let them settle themselves for a bit. If I heard one wake up and not settle back to sleep pretty quickly I either went in and laid down to try and re-settle him or her or -if he or she was awake and had slept enough - I would get him or her to ensure that the other baby gets enough sleep.
 
Feel free to ask if there is anything else you want to know.